David Farrar: Damien now anti mining

When Damien O’Connor was standing on the West Coast, he was pro mining. He was even accused of being out of step with his party.

But now he has left the West Coast, he is now passionately anti-mining. The Post reports:

Heather du Plessis-Allan: Damien O'Connor must apologise

Labour’s going to have to sort itself out over this Middle East situation. 

This is about Damien O'Connor's tweet. I was really surprised yesterday when I was listening to Carmel Sepuloni being interviewed on this, as the deputy leader of the Labour Party. 

She was asked if he should apologise for his tweet and instead of saying yes, which is the only answer to give, she made excuses for him, saying he feels strongly about the situation as if that makes it OK. 

Ele Ludemann: No grey in October 7th atrocities

Few conflicts are black and white, but no intelligent and well informed person can think there is any grey in the October 7th atrocities committed by Hamas in Israel.

No matter people’s views on Israel’s actions since and whatever sympathy they have for the people of Gaza, they can neither excuse nor justify the rapes, murders and barbarism that took place on that dark day and which triggered Israel’s response.

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 23/11/23

We are unsure of Damien O’Connor’s whereabouts, but he brings news today of European vote on the NZ-EU FTA

Great news.

No, not the great news you most likely are waiting for, which is the announcement of coalition negotiations being completed, what has been agreed, who has landed which jobs – and so on.

It is great news nevertheless because it suggests there is life in the Beehive.

Karl du Fresne: Suddenly, the media are unimportant - and it hurts

I sometimes wonder whether political reporters ever pause to think how precious and entitled their behaviour looks to outsiders.
I doubt it. They are too self-absorbed.

Right now, members of the parliamentary press gallery are feeling peevish. After feasting for years on a rich banquet of political news and sensation, they suddenly find themselves on starvation rations. And they’re not taking it well.

Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand changes tack in the Gulf

A sign of things to come.

That might be the best way to interpret New Zealand trade minister Damien O’Connor’s recent foray into the Middle East.

O’Connor stopped off in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi on a brief, yet important trip that comes as New Zealand prepares for its October 14 election.

Point of Order: O’Connor goes to Paris (will they make a movie of it?)

While his colleagues spend millions back home and crimp liquor sales

Damien O’Connor has been busy with international duties. At the weekend he met with Aussie ministerial counterparts in Queenstown to discuss the advancement of trans-Tasman cooperation under the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement before packing his bags to head for Paris where he will co-chair an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ministerial meeting.

Point of Order: How we are suckling the sheep-milk industry – Govt invests $7.97m in partnership which involves state-owned Landcorp

Damien O’Connor scored twice – he issued one statement as Minister of Trade and another as Minister of Agriculture – while rookie Emergency Relief Minister Kieran McNulty broke his duck, announcing flood relief for the West Coast.

Covid-19 Response Minister Ayesha Verrall put more runs on the board, too, with a statement about Government work to combat new and more dangerous variants of COVID-19.

In his trade job, O’Connor declared he was pleased with the quick progress of the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement Legislation Bill that was introduced to the House yesterday.

It would enable New Zealand to implement its obligations under the FTA and was necessary to bring the FTA into force, he explained.

Point of Order: O’Connor chalks up global fishing success – now let’s see if Twyford can persuade Russia (and others) to agree to nuclear-weapon ban

While Health Minister Andrew Little was announcing the launch of a meth addiction service in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, two of his colleagues were dealing with much grander global issues – one related to the international regulation of fishing, the other dealing with efforts to ban nuclear weapons.

Trade Minister Damien O’Connor – reporting back from Europe ahead of his return home – said New Zealand’s leadership had contributed to a number of significant outcomes and progress at the Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which concluded in the early hours of Friday morning after a week of intense negotiations between its 164 members.

A major outcome was a new Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies